Ableton Live Tutorial: The Best Way to Remix Anything
Chopping drum breaks is at the core of hip-hop, house, jungle, and bass-music production. Traditional time-stretching can blur transients and rob drums of their punch. By slicing instead of stretching, you lock every hit to your project’s tempo while keeping the original character intact—and you gain MIDI-level control for endless creative rearrangement.
Step-by-Step Workflow
- Drag your drum-break clip onto an empty MIDI track’s Device View (⇧ Tab).
- Ableton loads it into Simpler automatically.
- Pro tip: Make sure Warp is off inside Simpler so no hidden stretching occurs.
- In Simpler, switch from Classic to Slicing mode.
- Each transient now maps to ascending MIDI notes starting at C1.
- Double-click a blank slot to create a MIDI clip.
- Draw or record notes on the C1–D#2 range / up to whatever the highest note of slice placed.
- Quantize if needed, then raise the project BPM—your loop stays tight with zero audio damage.
- Ctrl/Cmd-click the waveform › Slice to New Drum Rack.
- Every slice lives in its own pad with its own Simpler.
- Open the Drum Rack’s I/O section.
- Select all pads and set Choke → None so kicks, snares, and hats can overlap naturally.
- Drop EQs, saturation, or compression onto individual pads.
- Click the floppy-disk icon to save the Rack in your User Library for instant recall.
Creative Expansion Ideas
- Layering: Duplicate the MIDI clip; pitch one Rack down an octave for sub-kicks and another up an octave for airy tops.
- Velocity Humanization: Randomize velocities 80 – 115 % for loose funk.
- Groove Pools: Import MPC or real-break grooves for instant swing.
- FX Automation: Record filter sweeps or gated reverb on single pads for ear-candy fills.
- Hybrid Warping: If you must warp, freeze or resample individual slices first—short clips handle stretching far better than full loops.
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1121 Jackson Street NE Suite #142 Minneapolis, MN 55413
Mike Johnson
(Baard, Michaelton)
Michael T. Johnson (aka Baard, aka Michaelton) can be found DJ’ing at just about every known venue in Minneapolis, with gigs regularly every weekend. But, he wears many hats, (both figuratively and literally). Versatility is a skill that he balances well, as he is equipped heavily in education with a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of St. Thomas. His studies dove him deep into communications, recording arts, choral ensemble, music business, music theory & acoustics, social media branding, marketing, and graphic & web design. Baard is an Ableton Live enthusiast, getting daily mentoring from the top ACT’s for over 2 years now after completing the Ableton Live program at Slam Academy. He teaches privately as well as providing support for other instructors. Baard’s creativity comes from being a multi-instrumentalist with a forte in vocals. He knew, ever since making his first beats and raps in high school, that music was his direction. Baard also keeps himself busy as a music producer, clocking in endless hours of studio time to create music for short films, documentaries, and reality shows. His most recent new hat is artist management, providing guidance and connections for new artists.
Specks made his way into the DJ scene at the young age of 13-years-old. And nearly a decade later is regularly playing numerous shows and festivals in and around the twin cities.